Senior executives at
Gina Rinehart
’s private company, Hancock Prospecting, have seen their salaries more than double in the past year to $56 million even as iron ore prices have weakened, news reports said.

According to the private company’s annual report, payments to Hancock’s key management personnel climbed to $56.2 million in financial 2013 from the year-earlier $22.2 million and $10.3 million in financial 2011, the Australian reported on its web site.

Executives who would have benefited from the bump in pay include Hancock Prospecting executive director Tad Watroba, chief financial officer Jay Newby, chief development officer John Klepec and general counsel Terry Walsh, the report said.

“The growth in salaries may be attributable to the expansion in Hancock’s management ranks as it seeks to build the $10 billion Roy Hill iron ore project in the Pilbara," the report said. Hancock has a 70 per cent stake in Roy Hill, with the rest split between Marubeni of Japan, Korea’s Posco and China Steel Corporation of Taiwan.

Hancock Prospecting’s net profit after tax fell to $489.7 million in fiscal 2013 from the year-earlier $3.25 billion, when the bottom line was boosted by the $1.1 billion sale of coal assets in Queensland and a $1.6 billion accounting gain because of tax changes, the report said. Underlying net profit, which strips out such gains, fell $400 million to $610 million.